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Sadowsky's, Out of Fashion?


waynepunkdude
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[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='1241678' date='May 23 2011, 02:50 PM']Having owned both nyc and metro i really dont get why there seems to be this wierd thing against the metro range?? The quality is the same but with less paint / wood options :)


I personally wouldnt ever buy a new fender because i dont think they're worth the money but thats just me! :)[/quote]

Ironically I would buy a Metro second hand but not first hand, and for the same reason you wouldn't buy a Fender! 6 years ago or so I came very close to buying an RV-5 from the U.S. I was a little put off by the price (a bit over £1300 new) and went for something else in the end. In direct comparison 2011's Metro price tags are insane and I think you're paying more for the Sadowsky name on the headstock more than anything. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that of course, people can buy what they want, but I wouldn't say the price echos the sum of the parts.

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Unfortunately, yes, this is the case, but I also think manufacturers and dealers are hiking the prices like they are on Fenders. 20% VAT does not mean £200 increase...obviously the cost of fuel is rising, etc, but I think if they carry on no one will buy, and it will be almost a stalemate scenario.

I wont buy a new Fender at the new prices, simple as. There is no need for the £200 approx. rise.

£2000 for a Metro is insane IMO, they are very well built, but then again, so is a Stingray!

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[quote name='risingson' post='1241405' date='May 23 2011, 11:06 AM']However, THIS is the video that's telling me to stop being such an idiot and save up for the Will Lee model. Forget the playing, the tone is just great.[/quote]
But aren't Lee's own instruments outfitted with mid-60s Fender pickups?

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[quote name='Musicman20' post='1241731' date='May 23 2011, 03:28 PM']Unfortunately, yes, this is the case, but I also think manufacturers and dealers are hiking the prices like they are on Fenders. 20% VAT does not mean £200 increase...obviously the cost of fuel is rising, etc, but I think if they carry on no one will buy, and it will be almost a stalemate scenario.

I wont buy a new Fender at the new prices, simple as. There is no need for the £200 approx. rise.

£2000 for a Metro is insane IMO, they are very well built, but then again, so is a Stingray![/quote]

Just looking at fenders on guitar guitar's site! A 5 string 2011 american deluxe fender is £1515!! So i dont see the £1875 i paid for my Sadowsky PJ5 as that bad at all!!

ive played both basses and i personally consider the Sadowsky well worth the extra £300+

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[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='1241766' date='May 23 2011, 03:49 PM']Just looking at fenders on guitar guitar's site! A 5 string 2011 american deluxe fender is £1515!! So i dont see the £1875 i paid for my Sadowsky PJ5 as that bad at all!!

ive played both basses and i personally consider the Sadowsky well worth the extra £300+[/quote]

Like I say though, no one should be lambasted for choosing to pay anything from £100-10,000 on a bass should they want to, the inherent value of the instrument is decided by the person that chooses to buy it. And I think the current Fender prices are ridiculous. All I'm saying (and I could be wrong, I don't know) is that I bet Sadowsky somewhere down the line could elect to work out a way of selling their basses cheaper than they are currently without sacrificing the quality of the final product.

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[quote name='BottomEndian' post='1241771' date='May 23 2011, 03:54 PM']At first glance, I thought that was a tiny, miniature bass and those candlesticks were normal-sized strap buttons. :)[/quote]
I'm only 1' tall, wanna fight about it?!

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[quote name='molan' post='1241382' date='May 23 2011, 11:52 AM']As a near uncontrollable buyer and seller I can say that used Sadowsky basses have always been easiest for me to sell to sell here on BC.

My most recent one sold before I even put it up for sale here![/quote]

Yeah, and I cannot wait to have my second Sadowsky in my hands only one month after having the first...it's like a virus that infected me FOREVER :)

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Oh man, I feel a bit of Metro GAS setting in - would love a B&B Metro...
What about the NYC chambering and the Metro lack thereof? Played an amazing Metro at a friends' the other week, would an NYC have been as nice? My friend thinks No Way.
Me, I absolutely love everything about my supposedly routed NYC.

Anyway, where's the best place to look for Metros in UK? :)

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[quote name='BB3000S' post='1242326' date='May 23 2011, 09:52 PM']Oh man, I feel a bit of Metro GAS setting in - would love a B&B Metro...
What about the NYC chambering and the Metro lack thereof? Played an amazing Metro at a friends' the other week, would an NYC have been as nice? My friend thinks No Way.
Me, I absolutely love everything about my supposedly routed NYC.

Anyway, where's the best place to look for Metros in UK? :)[/quote]

The older NYC's aren't chambered but are still as light - apparently it was easier to get quality lighter weight tonewoods but they struggle to obtain these now.

I must admit that I do prefer the NYC's but, as others have said, I think it's mostly in the fancy woods & some of the birdseye necks that you can really see any difference.

Guitar Guitar seem to be about the only place with a decent actual stock of Metros.

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By the way - as I'm here and talking about NYC's - has anyone tried the Fodera NYC range?

I'm obviously biased as I'm a bit of a Fodera nut but I think the recent ones are every bit as good as the Sadowsky NYC. I've got a sunburst PJ4 sitting next to me right now & it's great - gorgeous neck and feels like it has more tonal options than a Sadowsky does.

Price seems to sit bang in the middle of a Metro & an NYC Sadowsky. This kinda makes sense as the wood comes from USA, is cut by hand in Japan & then sent back to USA for assembly so I guess they are a 50/50 construction :)

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[quote name='molan' post='1242349' date='May 23 2011, 10:04 PM']Guitar Guitar seem to be about the only place with a decent actual stock of Metros.[/quote]

Yeah, or the Bass Gallery, although Im guessing GuitarGuitar have the most stock.

Problem is, hardly any of it sells. Some of the Sadowsky basses in there have been in there since I tested them out in 2009! Not such a bad thing if they are kept in cases etc, but the ones I played were right in the sunlight in the middle of a hot summers day. Ive noticed they have moved them now, thankfully.

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[quote name='molan' post='1242359' date='May 23 2011, 10:08 PM']By the way - as I'm here and talking about NYC's - has anyone tried the Fodera NYC range?[/quote]
Yes I have and TBH was a little disappointed!

Truly beautiful looking bass but nothing special to me in both tone and playability – I recently bought a passive Mayones jazz and dropped a John East preamp in it and the Mayones is a nicer instrument to play and sounds much better IME and costs more than £1.5k less!

Honestly, I really wanted to like it – especially as by far the best bass I have ever played is a top of the range Fodera!

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[quote name='Musicman20' post='1241314' date='May 23 2011, 10:55 AM']I think the prices are part of why I gave up on the Metros. A few years back, they were reasonable, but still expensive.

Now, they are almost £2000, or more.[/quote]

I'm sure when Guitar Guitar first got them in they were about £1200. And even then, they wern't very good!

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i tried a load of the metros in guitar guitar.... bare in mind i am comparing them to the other two jazzes in my life at the time- the red valenti number 42 and a FSR fender 70's jazz. And also the fenders in the store.....
they were a lot cleaner than the fenders. they sounded like if you have a line 6 bass pod and you've got it going straight, then you turn it on and boom, there is a more prossesed 'fender' sound. This possibly is a good thing.
Construction wise they were good, the valenti was far far better though. and then the bad thing happened.... I don't like active basses as much as passive- so i turned the preamp off..... and boom..... the sound went, and the whole thing sounded utterly dead and dull.

so with the preamp in, aye it wasnae bad, but with it off.... awful.
I wouldnae buy one

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[quote name='peteb' post='1242452' date='May 23 2011, 11:20 PM']Yes I have and TBH was a little disappointed!

Truly beautiful looking bass but nothing special to me in both tone and playability – I recently bought a passive Mayones jazz and dropped a John East preamp in it and the Mayones is a nicer instrument to play and sounds much better IME and costs more than £1.5k less!

Honestly, I really wanted to like it – especially as by far the best bass I have ever played is a top of the range Fodera![/quote]

How old was the one you tried?

They've really improved over the last 18 months or so. I'd definitely rate them up with an NYC Sadowsky now.

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[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1242469' date='May 23 2011, 11:43 PM']so with the preamp in, aye it wasnae bad, but with it off.... awful.
I wouldnae buy one[/quote]

I must admit that it's the active pre-amp in a Sad that really does it for me. Not when it's whacked up full mind :)

I always think the passive option is just there for when your batteries fail on a gig, lol.

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[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1242469' date='May 23 2011, 11:43 PM']i tried a load of the metros in guitar guitar.... bare in mind i am comparing them to the other two jazzes in my life at the time- the red valenti number 42 and a FSR fender 70's jazz. And also the fenders in the store.....
they were a lot cleaner than the fenders. they sounded like if you have a line 6 bass pod and you've got it going straight, then you turn it on and boom, there is a more prossesed 'fender' sound. This possibly is a good thing.
Construction wise they were good, the valenti was far far better though. and then the bad thing happened.... I don't like active basses as much as passive- so i turned the preamp off..... and boom..... the sound went, and the whole thing sounded utterly dead and dull.

so with the preamp in, aye it wasnae bad, but with it off.... awful.
I wouldnae buy one[/quote]

I run my cheap, battered old Japanese Fenders through an outboard Sadowsky preamp and it makes them sound fantastic. Much cheaper than buying a complete Sadowsky bass plus you've got the classic vintage Fender sound if you bypass it :)

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[quote name='molan' post='1242349' date='May 23 2011, 11:04 PM']The older NYC's aren't chambered but are still as light - apparently it was easier to get quality lighter weight tonewoods but they struggle to obtain these now.

I must admit that I do prefer the NYC's but, as others have said, I think it's mostly in the fancy woods & some of the birdseye necks that you can really see any difference.

Guitar Guitar seem to be about the only place with a decent actual stock of Metros.[/quote]
Thanks! Guitar x2 seems to have a really nice selection. :)
Approximately how old is old in terms of routing?

[size=1](GAS attack finally settling down a bit.)[/size]

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